Simpson: When a sandwich becomes a crime

LUNCH SHAMING: The Today Show reported on April 11 that the state of New Mexico has passed a law making it illegal to “shame” a student if their parents have not paid for their school lunch.

By Dave SimpsonFormer Pekin Times Publisher

LUNCH SHAMING: The Today Show reported on April 11 that the state of New Mexico has passed a law making it illegal to “shame” a student if their parents have not paid for their school lunch.

Other states are likely to follow, according to the report.

Featured in the report were two students who suffered embarrassment when their lunch accounts were tapped out, and their fellow students noticed that they didn't get lunch like everyone else. “It made me feel poor,” one of the students said.

For a time when our kids were in high school, I was living in Nebraska with my son, while The Wife was living in Illinois with my daughter, as she finished her final year of high school. Pressed into service as the adult in the Nebraska wing of the family, I had to take care of all the routine stuff that The Wife had been handling for years.

Included in those tasks was making sure there was enough money in my son's lunch account. More than once I made a last-minute dash to the high school at mid morning to put some money into his lunch account.

When my son's account dipped to zero and I didn't get over there in time, my son was served a peanut butter sandwich instead of whatever the other kids were eating. (He hated peanut butter sandwiches.)

Little did I know that my son had been “lunch shamed.” I'm happy to report that he turned out OK anyway. (No piercings. No visible tattoos. Success!)

Today, giving my kid that peanut butter sandwich – for his pals to see – would be against the law in New Mexico.

Go figure.

TOO CLOSE: Tiny House shows are popular on TV these days, as young couples, some with kids, downsize to the ridiculous, vowing to live in 300 square feet or less.

I think, however, that the key to a loving home is the ability to get the heck away from each other from time to time. Sometimes, three, even four floors aren't enough.

And I'd like to revisit some of these Tiny Home advocates after a year or so of living together, cheek by jowl, in close proximity to a composting toilet.

THE WORM TURNS: For years, the federal government has been threatening to withhold tax dollars if we don't lower our speed limit, raise our drinking age, crack down on sex assault on campus, and let anyone use whichever bathroom they feel like using.

There was never any hesitation about holding our federal dollars hostage unless we behaved the way the smart folks back in Washington deemed we should behave. And for the most part, there was little sympathy for anyone defying the will of almighty Washington.

Now, however, states like California are bristling at the threat of losing federal law enforcement dollars if some of their cities remain “sanctuaries” that won't enforce immigration laws. They've even hired former Attorney General Eric Holder to keep the feds from punishing them for not upholding, well, the LAW.

The message: We'll do whatever we want, and you'll give us our money! Every penny!So now, after having been blackmailed into toeing the federal line for decades, we're supposed to feel sorry for sanctuary cities now that they're the ones being threatened.

Sorry. No sympathy here. Fresh out.

MISSED A SPOT: There's no better expert than your spouse to see all the spots you missed when you're painting.

That's because a spouse is finely attuned to one's limitations, and has been living with those nagging performance deficits for years (in my case, decades). When I paint something, she can see every ding-dong spot I missed from 100 yards away.

“You missed a spot!” she says with what sounds suspiciously like glee.

The same is true, I have discovered, of digging a hole. We planted some trees last weekend, and no matter how deep and wide I dug the holes, she was pretty sure I hadn't dug them deep or wide enough.

Turns out the holes were about twice as wide and deep as they needed to be.

I didn't say a word as we filled them back in, though.

You learn these lessons, over the decades.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.

Site Links

Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
The Clay County Advocate - Press-Flora, IL ~ 105 West North Avenue, Flora, IL 62839 ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service